Flamingo Park, Miami. On June 27, 1980, the U.S. Soccer Federation holds the first U.S. Women’s Open Cup. There is no national team, no professional league, no NCAA championship — this is the highest level of women’s talent in the country.
Joan Dunlap, 18 years old, is the star forward for the Seattle Sharks. She wears a pink bandana over blond braids. A daughter of devout Catholics who would rebel against the stricture, she’s part Northwestern flower child, part tomboy. And she’s breathtakingly fast, her first three steps as explosive as it gets. Joan Jett, they call her. She can outrun anyone, even though — unbeknownst to the fans and most of her teammates — she is five and a half months pregnant.
Joan has never heard of someone who competed while pregnant — there are no examples to follow — but her doctor gave her the green light, and she wants to win. She feels good, she’s not showing, and since speed is her strength, she’s not too worried about the physical side of the game — no one can catch her anyway. The Women’s Open Cup final ends in a deadlock, and in the game-deciding shootout, Joan takes, and makes, the winning penalty kick: the Seattle Sharks are national champions.
Several months later, Dunlap gives birth to her son, Johnny, and that moment on the field…
